---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors
lang: en
title: Trying to open locked doors
summary: >-
  Turning a handle or pushing a door confirms that it is locked. The hero’s
  reaction makes the blocked passage understandable.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors.md
aliases:
  - Try a locked door
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Doors
sourceIds:
  - source-445cc8d559323fa7
  - source-f1658c747f3ba240
sources:
  - id: source-445cc8d559323fa7
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Trying to open locked doors'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f1658c747f3ba240
    title: Outlast (2013)
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors/game/outlast
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors
    title: Game design techniques
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-doors
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Try a locked door
    description: >-
      Turning a handle or pushing a door confirms that it is locked. The hero’s
      reaction makes the blocked passage understandable.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interaction-trying-to-open-locked-doors.webp
      width: 798
      height: 446
      game: Outlast
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/outlast_closed-doors.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 1.1
      credit: Red Barrels; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host:
        GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights
        reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: A hand tries to open the door
      alt: >-
        The hero’s hand reaches toward a wooden door handle in Outlast, and the
        door remains shut.
      markers:
        - x: 50
          'y': 68
          label: Hand against the closed door
        - x: 37
          'y': 62
          label: Handle and interaction area
    tips:
      - Confirm refusal with a brief gesture and sound.
      - Distinguish a locked door from a decorative fixed panel.
    examples:
      - title: Outlast
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages
  checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by
  gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference
  URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film
  analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are
  upstream attributions, not independent verification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/game-mechanics
---
# Trying to open locked doors

id: game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors/

Turning a handle or pushing a door confirms that it is locked. The hero’s reaction makes the blocked passage understandable.

## At a glance

![The hero’s hand reaches toward a wooden door handle in Outlast, and the door remains shut.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-trying-to-open-locked-doors.webp)

[Outlast](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

[Source recording](https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/outlast_closed-doors.webm), 1.1 s

1. Hand against the closed door
2. Handle and interaction area

- Confirm refusal with a brief gesture and sound.
- Distinguish a locked door from a decorative fixed panel.

- [Outlast](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors)

## How it works

A handle check or push communicates that a door cannot currently open.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors-rule"></a>

- A handle check or push communicates that a door cannot currently open. <a id="gm-trying-to-open-locked-doors-definition"></a>

## Context and limits

All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.

- [Game Mechanics: Trying to open locked doors](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors) (id: source-445cc8d559323fa7)
- [Outlast (2013)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trying-to-open-locked-doors/game/outlast) (id: source-f1658c747f3ba240)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors